I. CONVERSATIONS ELSEWHERE
crimson-errant (On catalysts/miracles; I’ve added quite a few thoughts here, too!)
falteringknightgervais (An addendum that spurred my thoughts regarding some matters!)
velka-of-sin (On Velka’s catalyst;)
velka-of-sin (On Velka, in general)
velka-of-sin (On possible matters of the Occult Rebellion)
ofthedarksun (On Gwyndolin, in general)
sosayethlight (On Gwynevere, in general)
You can be here, send me your thoughts..!
I know I’ve missed posts I liked, send them to me!
II. WHAT IS FAITH
*Faith, digressions on what it represents mechanically and in terms of story
Faith - represented by points, as if it were an ability that could be bought up or lost over time. Certain items increase or decrease the amount of faith you possess, or alter the faith necessary to interact with other items or abilities.
I tend to think of sorcery/soul arts as the purest form of extracting and manipulating the soul - the self. Given how analogous sorcery tends to be to science, and Dark Souls has little exception, it seems to be more ‘materialist’ - here meaning, focused on the material - then faith, which requires little more to manifest then a sincere and unwavering belief.
And pyromancy, of course, is the primordial everything. Warm fire, gentle smog, the touch of a hand against your back when it is dark, and you are alone.
Devestating wildfires destroying your home and land, choking tar, the isolation of a fiery chasm.
Faith is our interpretation of these two things - often under a spiritual banner, though I would argue certain interpretations rely just as much on intelligence or need no real statistics to manipulate into being.
This means that faith - in the confines of how we’re discussing it here - is a way of looking at the beauty and power of fire, the limitless potential of the soul (and if we are to include hexes, the dark majesty of the abyss) and saying ‘let us describe that.’
[Let us tell a tale
that has no real purpouse
no beginning and no end
but where it springs to life from the ink
still fresh on our hands
may we yet find
truth.]
-
Excerpt, To Seek Guidance. Found in the Duke’s Archives.
III. MIRACLES
*On miracles, their uses, with examples and thoughts. Most of the meat’ll be here.
[To take a gentle thing
given form
with the little light-spun memories
of what it might have been]
-
Excerpt, Replenishment.
Taken from a tattered text, in a cold tomb.
A miracle is not a sorcery.
You are not doing this on your own, even if no God answers your prayers, or you are not praying, exactly.
There is no strength taken purely from your soul, no light nor warmth from the primordial fire, no caress from the abyss to smother the fear of worry, of care, of association.
Miracles come from descriptions; from lovingly embellished lies.
Oh - I do not mean to imply that all miracles are lies...!
Rather that miracles are stories. And stories, when told, have a habit of deviating from the truth; or at the very least, their origins.
Lord Gwyn’s soldiers, like many soldiers throughout time, likely used light, and sound to signal and communicate - both in defiance of the endless grey and as a way to spread the word when distance overwhelmed them. After the immediate threat was vanquished, soldiers’ hymns and signals became songs, became stories and ballads and morals.
The collective desire for these great tales to be true began to crystallize around them. And though desire to the point of consumption is often associated with Dark, I think here, it was curtailed by belief. While a peasant might believe that Lord Gwyn’s lancets of light tore through stone dragons, they might not believe that Bishop Havel, unaided, was capable of the same.
But when slightly drunk, around the table - telling tales of how Bishop Havel took blow after blow that would’ve called a lesser man, felled giants, maybe even Lord Gwyn himself! How he laughed them off, how he laughed off their magic, how he stood resplendent with his armor even more stony then dragons scales’ themselves..!
Suddenly, that becomes more real, perhaps, then the reality itself. After all, how few alive truly remember those days, anyway?
And for those that do remember, beings of incredibly vast faith and age, the possibility of granting miracles directly becomes something not only visible, but re-inforcing of these lesser ‘folk miracles.’
Your armour is rent, you are alone, and there seems to be no hope.
Then - then you feel it; the momentary unseasonal warmth of spring, despite the snow falling around you.
Fear vanishes, your wounds heal.
And though the Gods have not been present themselves, your own miracles are stronger, and you know you will prevail.
... Of course - despite the wishes of the Gods themselves, I feel a downside of this bequeathment is that a celestial court, if you will, springs up almost organically. I’ve written about this in my own headcanon, but I feel strongly that the closer you get to Anor Londo, the closer the stewardship of the Gods - greater and lesser - becomes similar to the old Hellenistic system; as much a civil service as a religion.
See the Way of White, Allfather Lloyd (who I am convinced no one, rightfully, likes, but is largely untouchable until...), the use of ritual and statuaries...
And the more this central system is relied upon, rituals are standardized and guarded, rather then bequeathed or adapted into folk practice, the more they are susceptible to dieback.
For when the fire itself starts to die, and people’s faith wanes, and they no longer have their own practice to return to...
What else can replace faith, but fire -
Or dark..?
[... And the wounds in your flesh
do not glisten
like the gold of your spirit
unyielding
so let them scatter
when the breeze begins to speak
know our presence among thee
fearing not the sting of death...]
-
Excerpt, Great Heal.
Taken from a prayer book.
Most of the pages have been rendered indecipherable.
IV. PRACTITONERS
*What it means to use and channel miracles, versus sorceries or pyromancy.
I think some distinction needs to be drawn between clerics and untrained believers.
Clerics have some deep distrust both in-and-out of character for many, and I fear this may be bleedout from the modern beliefs of many. This is not bad, but I feel it may do well to imagine that there are a great many kinds of cleric, as certainly as there are any other kind of wanderer.
Nevertheless - a cleric is trained, likely in a religious academy, most likely in Thorolund, so famous for those of religious bent. This inculcates dogmatic beliefs and a resistance to being challenged that reinforces the bad faith that many hold clerics in, especially in this Age of the Dead when many miracles have lost their power all together.
But I think it is worthy to remember that many of the most dutiful clerics were probably the first to administer to the wounded and dying in the earliest days of the Curse, and thus exposed to death and infirmity; leaving the cowardly, infirm, and untrained - or, perhaps, those also on special call.
Those who burn with a piety without name might also be skilled with miracles, but either recite ‘wrong’ variations or local interpretations of such works, but be unskilled in just what stories and tales exist. Invocations and rites for healing are a common theme, but with the breakdown of storytelling and victory, the great romances of love and loss that compose truly beautiful miracles are lost, perhaps forever.
And of course, there are those amongst these who are pious, but perhaps cruel, or vengeful, or mad.
For to hear the voices of those beautiful and unreachable, whether that is from a dying city or the hands of fortunate beauty herself...
Both could be considered more mad, then faithful.
[Victory, hear my cry
wreath yourself around my hand
dancing ‘round burnt palms
loose thyself towards mine enemies
flourishing them with your glistening lance.]
-
Excerpt, Lightning Spear.
From a sanctioned prayer-vellum.
[Arc through the terrible grey
dead sky glistening above
lay low the soul of my foe
and bend sweet victory to me.]
-
Excerpt, Lightning Spear.
Allegedly from a rural parish; the canon of which is dubious.
V. UNSORTED THESES
*Anything else I’ve forgotten.
I can see miracles being chanted slowly, in the manner of the old church, or quickly, in the manner some recite the heart sutra. This might depend on time, desired effect, or strength of the effect, tradition...
Though I imagine there was a trend, over time, towards the shortening of texts and invocations, leaving out words and syllables until the shortest desired tale created the greatest effect; and this only hastened the loss of true, ancient, strong miracles - save those bequeathed by the Gods themselves.
Similarly, I think that in the Age of Fire, and times of great peace and tranquility, miracles were often lavish - perhaps even decadent - affairs. Rumours and antagonism to the Gods did not simply arise because of distance or their failure at combating the curse, after all. Chances are that these had greater effects still, or were necessary to guarantee the rites of whole villages or districts, but...
Perhaps, also, there was some amount of skimming-the-tithe.
Variations on miracles in the state-sanctioned cults (used here in a neutral sense; I see a great parallel between Hellenism and the Gods) are common and tolerated. I cannot imagine a Pardoner’s invocation to heal would necessarily be the same as a lay-priest in the Way of White, for example.
Similarly, it’s fairly clear that the Way of White is not comprised of all clerics, priests, or believers, but is very vocal. Could the pressure from the Way of White ‘outcompeted’ official cults/beliefs from the Gods and their chosen anointed themselves? That might be one reason lesser/less popular divinities retreated to their home territories...
At some point, remind me to comment on the Gods of DS2, here.
In closing...
[...Do not fear loneliness
for you wear it beautifully around your shoulders
let it drape over you like a blanket
and warm the weariness of your soul
Until the last moment of the last day
when the sun falls to the shadows of your eyes
may it protect and guide you
so that we may yet meet, again...]
-
Excerpt, Soothing Sunlight. Source unknown.
